Pagina's

The Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck Monument in Bruges

Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, two folk heroes of the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, are known far beyond the Bruges borders. They were also the heroes in the book "The Lion of Flanders" (1838) by Flemish autor Hendrik Conscience. It is therefore not surprising that the two heroes were immortalized in 1887 on the Marketplace in Bruges with an impressive statue.

Picture by Pixabay

The statue was made by two different artists. The pedestal is made by Louis Delacenserie, the architect of, among others, the neo-gothic movement in Bruges. The bronze statue of the two folk heroes is the work of Paul De Vigne, a sculptor from Ghent,

Picture by Pixabay

Due to friction between the Flemish-minded Breydel committee and the French-speaking Bruges city council, the statue was unveiled twice. The first time on 11 July 1887 in Flemish by the Breydel committee; a second time on August 15, 1887, this time in French and in the presence of King Leopold II.